Dealership "Detailers" Strike Again

David Fermani

David Fermani

Forza Auto Salon
Here's a story about the typical dealership ability to detail a vehicle. I was at a local Cadillac/Hummer dealer parked inspecting & photgraphing a wrecked car and I just happen to be across from the detail bay for new & used cars. I couldn't help not to notice the buzzing of a rotary buffer, so I looked up and noticed a guy dancing to the music trying to buff out a door panel on a black H2 Hummer. Less than 2 minutes later I hear a loud yell of the word "O S##t". 2 more detailers walk over and start laughing at the guy that just burned through the paint trying to remove a scratch. I causually walk over(with my camera) and can't help to notice a big light spot in the center of the vehicle's black door panel with compound splatter everywhere. The idiot burned all the way through the clear AND the basecoat into the primer!! Look at the pics:



burnedHummerH2004.jpg


burnedHummerH2003.jpg


burnedHummerH2001.jpg
 
OMG thats EXACTLY the reason why I refuse to let the dealership touch my paint. Whenever I have to bring my Z in for warrany I make a BIG deal and write all over my paperwork saying DO NOT WASH OR WIPE DOWN MY CAR! Those 3$ an hour "detailers" suck balls. I see them at work everyday at my cousin's shop destroying brand new vettes.
 
hey now we arent all bad. but most of em are. it sucks because i am automatically put in the same category as these idiots. but im not staying at me dealership much longer. ive been there five years (they have never had anyone stay on that long), am the manager now, and i make a whopping 8 bucks an hour.i know if i had a place of my own to do it out of i could make a killing. but no such luck.a career in construction awaits, but ill always be a die hard weekend warrior. sorry for the rant, just had to vent a little.
 
Lightman said:
Seriously now, come on, how do you really feel? :)
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Actually I trust them even less than you think....LOL What do they expect for only a couple dollars an hour on people doing the finishing touch on a brand new car they cant afford, when paying the real detailers a couple hundred is what it should cost. Cutting corners doesn't work.



BTW my friend who used to be the GSM at a local dealership is now opening his own detailing shop. It should work great since he has a complete passion for detailing and appreciates fine cars.
 
The splatter is unbelievable. I bet the machine is a 2 speed as well. 1800 or 3000 rpm, both being too fast for today's paint.
 
OMG, that is horrible. It should be a law that no dealership own anything more than a PC.

Look at the splatter! It looks like he just squirted compound all over the car and then started buffing at 3000 RPM. Egad!
 
Oh man, that poor SOB that ownes the Hummer.



Well, at least my Porsche dealer has very talented detailers who are constantly trained by 3M and other parties that provide products to the dealer for Porsche/VW/Audi.



When my C2S Porsche was being done prior to delivery and Armorglove, I dropped off a 32oz bottle of Menzerna P085RD which they used after a quick "get aquanted" with it.



Bottom line, some dealers do it the cheap way, and others invest in professionals



Regards,

Deanski
 
Deanski said:
Oh man, that poor SOB that ownes the Hummer.



Well, at least my Porsche dealer has very talented detailers who are constantly trained by 3M and other parties that provide products to the dealer for Porsche/VW/Audi.



When my C2S Porsche was being done prior to delivery and Armorglove, I dropped off a 32oz bottle of Menzerna P085RD which they used after a quick "get aquanted" with it.



Bottom line, some dealers do it the cheap way, and others invest in professionals



Regards,

Deanski
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Your lucky then Deanski, here in LI I have fixed quite a bit of Porche's that the dealers here hacked up, Legend in Amityville comes to mind. They usually get way with the light colored ones but the dark ones are a trip.
 
Oh my god, look at that mess.



Crazy irony here - just yesterday I did a heavy scratch removal on a black H2 about 3 inches from that exact spot - I wasn't able to get the entire scratch out, but I did remove about 12 microns...you'd think a dealership would have an ETG.
 
Deanski said:
Oh man, that poor SOB that ownes the Hummer.



Well, at least my Porsche dealer has very talented detailers who are constantly trained by 3M and other parties that provide products to the dealer for Porsche/VW/Audi.



When my C2S Porsche was being done prior to delivery and Armorglove, I dropped off a 32oz bottle of Menzerna P085RD which they used after a quick "get aquanted" with it.



Bottom line, some dealers do it the cheap way, and others invest in professionals



Regards,

Deanski
Click to expand...



Actually, I don't feel so bad for the owner...the dealership will be repainting that panel now.
 
Kinda like the nobs in that mustang gt you tube video. Line after line of product, then buff with the outside edge of the pad so it splatters everywhere
 
topnotch said:
Your lucky then Deanski, here in LI I have fixed quite a bit of Porche's that the dealers here hacked up, Legend in Amityville comes to mind. They usually get way with the light colored ones but the dark ones are a trip.
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I've actually seen Carrera GT's washed with a brush/broom up on the north shore. I know that the guy at Roslyn Porsche typically doesn't do more than wax, but between that broom and the dirty applicator, that isn't a good thing.
 
topnotch said:
Your lucky then Deanski, here in LI I have fixed quite a bit of Porche's that the dealers here hacked up, Legend in Amityville comes to mind. They usually get way with the light colored ones but the dark ones are a trip.
Click to expand...



Yep, that's what I hear as to some Porsche dealerships, not all that talented.



It all depends on how much effort the dealership puts into the final delivery. Some take the short cuts and others will take the effort in proper training and constant inspections by management to keep the standards high. This is very critical during delivery. You want to make sure the customer is happy with the car. More so when you're into the higher end cars. No dealership wants a customer to refuse delivery due to improper inspection by the service techs and by the detailers. It's not just the deatilers, which you can see cosmeticly, but the service techs are just as much to blame or more so as this can really effect the whole car.



That's also why I dropped off the P085RD. To let the shop have the opportunity to try it, get used to it etc.



Deanski
 
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